Semester Project: Bob Marley

1. Semester Project: Bob Marley TahneVongsavath

2. CONTENTS • A History of Some Of Marley’s Works • Bob Marley’s Biography • Bob Marley Listening Guide • Citations

3. A History of Some Of Marley’s Works • Three Little Birds • Is This Love • War

4. Three Little Birds • Original inspiration for the song is still disputed today. • One idea is that Marley used everything as inspiration. So maybe three little birds outside his window were really just birds outside is window. • Another theory is that the birds actually represented the group I Threes Griffiths, the leader of the all girl group reported that after the song had come out, Marley always referred to them as his “three little song birds.”

5. Is This Love • Like Three Little Birds, the story behind this song is also disagreed upon. • It is believed that Marley wrote this for his loving wife Rita, who was his true love. • Another side, is that this song is dedicated To all of the women out there. Marley sought To fully respect women, as his mother had taught him.

6. WAR • Released in 1976 • Expressed Marley’s opposition to lack of peace in the world. • Wanted men to treat each other equally as if “brothers” • This ideal of peace, almost got him assassinated.

7. Bob’s Marley Biography

8. “Bob Marley” • Born February 6, 1945 in St. Anne’s Parish Jamaica • Known today as the King of reggae • One of the first ambassadors of reggae • Born to a black mother and a white father (who abandoned the family while Marley was still a young boy) • He was astonished by music even at a young age

9. During his childhood he met a young boy who also shared a passion for music named Neville “Bunny” Livingston. • Livingston taught Marley how to play the guitar and the two soon hit it off. • Neville and Marley soon became part of a group called the Wailers. • They were a big group in Jamaica, but did not produce enough financially and the band went their separate ways. • After the break up, Marley found his way to America where he met his wife, Rita.

10. After marrying Rita, Marley became more in touch with his Rastafarian religion, and continued his music career, singing a lot about God. • Marley and a few members of the Wailer’s reunited and began creating music together again. • In 1972 the group signed with Island records and released two albums before political problems split the group up once more.

11. Marley spoke of wanting peace and equality for all man kind. This triggered an attempted assassination on Marley during a concert rehearsal. • The day after the concert Marley and his wife fled the country. • Later in life Marley visited a doctor about a previous toe injury he had, but a biopsy revealed cancer cells. • Because of his beliefs, he did not have the toe amputated, allowing the cells to spread.

12. During his performance at Madison Square Gardens, Marley became very ill and it was apparent he couldn’t fight off the disease any longer. • Before Marley died he wanted to travel back to Jamaica, so he and his wife started the journey. • However, they didn’t make it there. • On May 11, 1981 in Miami Florida, Marley passed away A legend.

13. Bob Marley Listening Guide

14. Three Little Birds (0:0) Intro (0:13) Chorus 1 (0:15) Marley along with ensures listeners to not worry. Meaning that the day is going to be a good one. (0:41) Verse 1 (1:06) Chorus 2 (1:34) Verse 2: Marley tells listeners that his belief that the day will be a good one is backed up by the fact that the three little birds are chirping happily along. (2:01) Chorus 3 (2:50) the song and repeated chorus begin to fade out instead of abruptly ending. This is symmetrical to his belief that the day is going to be good, and run smoothly. (3:01)

15. Is this Love (0:0) Intro in major (0:23) Verse 1: Marley ensure the woman he is talking to that if she agrees to be with him, that even though things maybe hard, they’ll always have shelter and eachother. (0:59) Chorus 1 (1:22) Verse 2: the repetitiveness of the “I wanta know wanta know” matches the rhythm and beat of the accompaniment. (1:38) Marley says he is ready and able and that he’ll throw his cards on the table, meaning he has nothing to hide. If she wants to be with him, he’ll show her everything he has to offer, no secrets. (1:42) Chorus 2 (2:44) Verse 3: the rhythm and breaks between the words change, the words remain the same. (3:57)

16. War (0:0) intro: the song begins with loud abrupt beats as to signify the sounds of war (0:17) Marley speaks about how the foundation is corrupt and in trouble, he does so to the rhythm of the music (0:56) Marley begins to sing. The lyrics tell about how some races believe that they are superior to others and how some men can be so judgmental as to judge based on the color of another mans eyes (1:10) chorus 1 (1:56) verse 1 (1:19) chorus 2 (1:21) percussion instruments (bongos) are added in (2:50) verse 2 (3:08) chorus 3 (3:29) verse 3: in this verse Marley speaks on how strongly he feels that the African nation will over come these differences and triamph (4:15) chorus 4: the music stays the same, but some of the words change, the words war, power, and other strong words become more emphasized’ (5:10) brass instruments are brought in (5:38) as he speaks of peace and love, womens softer voices join in and make the music sound more delicate (6:23)

17. Citations • http://www.lyricinterpretations.com/Bob-Marley/,Sept 7, 2010. • "Bob Marley." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Mar 06 2013, 10:04http://www.biography.com/people/bob-marley-9399524.